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Bloomberg China’s wireless carriers are reporting drops in users as the coronavirus crisis cuts business activity, with China Mobile Ltd, the world’s largest carrier, reporting its first net decline since starting to report monthly data in 2000. China Mobile subscriptions fell by more than 8 million over January and February, data on the company’s website show. China Telecom Corp has ...

Bloomberg China’s government is talking up the prospects for a rapid economic rebound from the coronavirus, even as the global economy sees further lockdowns to curb the spreading disease. Since March 20, the premier, who leads economic policy making, and a senior central-bank official, have pointed to the control of the outbreak and the resumption of activity as reasons for ...

Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp unveiled a plan to raise as much as 4.5 trillion yen ($41 billion) over the coming year to buy back stock and slash debt, a dramatic attempt to reassure investors about the stability of its empire amid fallout from the global outbreak of Covid-19. Billionaire Masayoshi Son’s investment giant said it’s authorised the sale or monetisation ...

Bloomberg Baby Devi has already lost 80% of her monthly earnings to the spread of the coronavirus — and the worst in India may be yet to come. The 38-year-old mother of four, who cleans homes for a living, lost jobs with two of her three employers. Like many relatively well-off Indians, they’ve begun social distancing to fight the highly ...

Bloomberg India is facing an economic shock as many parts of the country go into lockdown and the government will have to spend more and abandon fiscal deficit targets to cope, analysts said. Growth may weaken to 3% in the first three months of this year from 4.3% estimated previously, according to Oxford Economics, while Jefferies sees room for the ...

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard predicted the US unemployment rate may hit 30% in the second quarter because of shutdowns to combat the coronavirus, with an unprecedented 50% drop in gross domestic product. Bullard called for a powerful fiscal response to replace the $2.5 trillion in lost income that quarter to ensure a strong eventual ...

Bloomberg Germany signed off on taking on billions in new debt as part of an unprecedented package totaling more than 750 billion euros ($800 billion) to cushion the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Under a supplementary budget, the government will borrow 156 billion euros to fund additional social spending and direct company aid. Germany has also agreed to set up ...

Bloomberg Europe’s tech companies announced nearly $500 million in deals on Monday as venture-capital backed firms defied the gloomy markets. Lilium, an Uber-like service for private jets, closed a funding round of more than $240 million to continue development of its electric air taxis and to build manufacturing facilities, the Munich-based company said. The round was raised by existing investors, ...

Bloomberg The UK government stepped in to shore up the country’s rail operators after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Britons they face “tougher measures” to fight the coronavirus outbreak, including a potential full lockdown if they continue to ignore calls to stop social gatherings. The Department for Transport said on Monday that it will take on the revenue and cost ...

Bloomberg Italy is being dragged deeper into a recession after the coronavirus outbreak that’s crippling its northern regions forced the government to ban movement inside the country and shutter almost all industrial production. The impact of virus on the economy will be strong even as measures by the European Central Bank and European governments help limit the intensity and length ...